We know that many of our female readers would like to hear, firsthand, from a woman who may have had the same struggles with hair loss and found treatments that worked for her. We chatted with one of our patients, Ally Hastie (as seen in the Medi Tresse before & after gallery), about her experience with hair loss over the years, as well as her recent treatments.
I started noticing that I didn’t have a lot of hair when I was around 19 years old. But it wasn’t until three or four years ago that it got progressively worse and I decided that I wanted to do something to change it.
I felt horrible, sad and embarrassed. My hair is very important to me. I feel much more beautiful and comfortable with myself when I have thick hair and when it looks good, in general. When I first started to notice that it was thinning, I felt awful.
Not many people said something to me because I always tried to hide my problem with extensions and wore hats. But about a year ago it was almost impossible to hide - you could easily see my extensions through my thinning hair. That’s when I thought people were noticing and decided I needed to do something.
I’m not sure the cause, but my father was bald. I don’t know if it was maybe hereditary, hair loss could run in my family. I had also used bleach on my hair previously and sometimes people say that makes you lose your hair. I’m still not sure of the exact reason.
*Commentary from Dr. Wendel: Hair loss in women can be genetic, coming from either side of the family, so the fact that Ally’s father was bald, is one sign of this. Heavy bleaching can also have a negative effect on one’s hair strands and roots, causing some major hair thinning and damage.
No, because it was embarrassing for me to talk about it. It was really sad. When I started the treatment nobody knew. Now that I’ve gotten my treatments, I’ve told some people because they noticed a change and complimented me saying my hair looked much better. I think that they didn’t say anything before because they didn’t want to make me feel bad. I didn’t want to talk to anyone about it because it was embarrassing and I wasn’t sure if the treatment was going to work.
No, I was not nervous. I was very excited and wanted to believe in the treatment. I kept a positive attitude and kept positive thoughts, hoping it would work and the excitement gave me so much energy.
Yes, because I was doing some online research and came across some articles about PRP treatments and read as much as I could about it. One day, when I was very upset about it, my husband actually brought up some of the possible treatment options and encouraged me to see a physician.
Pretty quickly - within about two to three months.
Of course! I started to notice more hair filling in and thicker hair, overall. I would look in the mirror and feel good. My hair was the first thing I noticed when I looked in the mirror, in a good way. After the treatment I slowly kept noticing more improvements and every time I felt better and better.
Yes, and now I have many friends that want to do it! I remember, about three months after my treatment, when I told one of my friends with the same problem about PRP. She said she wanted to see how it worked on me first before she tried it herself. Once she saw my results, she was sad she didn’t try it sooner!
Yes, I started using a LaserCap®, a low level laser therapy product, every other day after the treatment.
I feel much better and I can’t wait until my next appointment. It’s such an improvement. I’m excited for my next treatment!
Yes, I already have! I have one friend (the one I already mentioned) who is going to Medi Tresse for her first appointment and I’m going to tag along. I was the one who inspired her to go!
